MarketWatch top 10 stories June 11 - 15

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks ended the week with gains as investor sentiment turned bullish on belief that the European debt crisis, and particularly the Greek electorate’s decision at the polls this weekend, would trigger more intervention and stimulus from the world’s central bankers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -0.32%
ended the week up 1.7%, supported by solid gains in some of the country’s best known corporate names.

Investors have begun preparing for a dramatic new stage in the European debt crisis ahead of a weekend Greek vote that could help determine the future of the euro zone.

In a sign of the heightened tension, global markets were boosted late in the week on reports that central bankers stand ready to act in the case of a credit crunch following the Greek elections. See more about Greek elections this weekend

Market experts got a glimpse of some of the actions central bankers and others may take when on Friday The Wall Street Journal reported that international regulators are on the verge of easing new banking rules that are meant to help the safety of the financial system.

Some of the regulators apparently worry that forging ahead with the new requirements could actually make the European financial meltdown worse, the newspaper reported. So, the new plan is to make it easier for the industry to comply with requirements that lenders keep on hand enough liquid assets to weather market plunges or other disasters. Read about regulators’ plan, at WSJ.com

On another regulatory note, prosecutors won two rounds in their latest aggressive pursuit of financial fraudsters. On Thursday, a federal court in Houston sentenced R. Allen Stanford to 110 years in prison for his involvement in a $7 billion Ponzi scheme.

No pain, investors miss out on gains

If you want to see how twisted the investment world is right now, consider that many investors — both individuals and institutions — are accepting reward-free risk. Normally, the search is for risk-free reward — return investors can get without putting their money in harm’s way. The difference: People are willing to settle for nothing on their cash, so long as they can be confident they will get their money back. No-pain investors miss out on gains

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